kirklandduck Moderator No. 1 Share Posted January 23 Reposting from the transfers thread for conversation. Oregon Ducks 5-star CB Na’eem Offord to bring position flexibility DUCKSWIRE.USATODAY.COM Oregon Ducks 5-star freshman cornerback Na’eem Offord could see a slight position change when arriving in Eugene this offseason. I don't hate the idea as we need more help in the safety group. At 6'1" and 185 lbs he's just big enough to handle it...the only question for me is would he perform as well or better there than at CB? OBD did get 2 other highly rated CBs for the 2025 class in Brandon Finney and Dorian Brew so maybe it makes sense to pair him up with Trey McNutt to round out that end of the field. *Edit* For reference, all 4 DBs are at least 6' tall...coaching staff is definitely recruiting bigger for the defensive backfield. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
spartan2785 No. 2 Share Posted January 23 Trust the coaches, they'll put the players in the best position to win. This group coming in is certainly the most heralded group of DBs to ever come to Oregon, it will be interesting to see if one of them will be that truly game changing DB in the mould of a Downs or Starks. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Marsh No. 3 Share Posted January 23 It's possible. Article had a lot of "could" and "should" language in it. I think Lanning and CO will move him wherever he needs to be. The bigger DBs are a huge get though. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kirklandduck Author Moderator No. 4 Share Posted January 23 Should all 4 DBs develop well that would be the most talented secondary I've ever seen in Eugene. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
spartan2785 No. 5 Share Posted January 23 On 1/23/2025 at 11:55 AM, kirklandduck said: Should all 4 DBs develop well that would be the most talented secondary I've ever seen in Eugene. There's been a few good ones, but none where you legitimately could see all 4 go in the first two rounds of the draft. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Fischer Administrator No. 6 Share Posted January 23 It is easier for us to recruit great receivers than LOCK-DOWN corners. If he is a great corner and better than the rest....leave him there please! 1 Mr. FishDuck Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnotherOD No. 7 Share Posted January 23 Early in his career, I wonder a bit if "five star" Donte Manning might not be a better fit moving to safety. Someone can correct it if in error; but, he came from Kansas in a high school league, that wasn't exactly known for throwing the ball all over the place. At the next level, possibly he needed to be developed a bit. Just a guess, my thought is Manning had such advanced physical tools, the risk at keeping him at CB was worth the potential risk of moving him to safety (that is, finding a "decent" elite level safety being easier than finding the same at CB). Reed had a fine year at CB; but, when it comes to NFL URFA, if anyone if gonna get a call, I imagine Manning would get more calls than Reed. Manning just never seemed to get past being a bit too "handsy". Tools were there but it never quite came together. It will be interesting to see what happens to Offord, lock down CBs are a thing, but so are, in modern college football, a fifth DB who can do a lot of things. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDuck No. 8 Share Posted January 24 Is it that he could be a stalwart at the Lanning 4-2-5 Mint defense STAR position? Isn't that, a big time edge rusher, and an athletic elite ILB the 3 keys to this defense to work really well? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Solar No. 9 Share Posted January 24 Orford was labeled "the best man to man cover db" in the 2025 class. Seems like waste to move him to safety if that is actually true. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
